The Fornebu Line () is an under construction rail line which will serve the peninsula of Fornebu in Bærum, Norway. The line is under construction and the transit agency Ruter is working towards connecting it to the Oslo Metro. The line has at various stages been proposed as an automated people mover, tram-train, tramway, light rail, stadtbahn, rapid transit, bus rapid transit and commuter rail, with the rapid transit option being selected as the final proposal. The metro line will start at Majorstuen Station and will run entirely in a tunnel for . The line will have six stations, at Skøyen, Vækerø, Lysaker, Telenor Arena, Flytårnet and Fornebu Senter. A depot will be built at Fornebu and the line will connect to the metro's Common Tunnel at Majorstuen.
Plans for a light rail to Fornebu were first launched in 1919, but at the time there was not the population to support it. Oslo Airport, Fornebu opened in 1939, and from the 1980s the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) proposed serving it with a branch of the Drammen Line. A 1986 report from said agency also looked at a people mover to a proposed new terminal. In 1992 Parliament voted to close the airport and build Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. Fornebu closed in 1998 and the area was to enter into a period of redevelopment. However, the zoning plans state that full-scale development of 6,000 residences and between 15,000 and 25,000 jobs cannot take place until a rail transit has been established.
After discarding proposals for a railway and a tram-train, Akershus County Municipality planned a people mover to Lysaker Station. This was approved of in 2004, but in 2007 the county changed its opinion and instead opted for a connection to the Oslo Tramway, allowing direct access to the city center. Ruter took over the planning in 2008 and followed up with additional reports. It instead recommended that the site be served by a metro. It cited that estimates showed that no other transit systems will have sufficient capacity in the long run. The project is estimated to cost 26.4 billion Norwegian krone and began construction in December 2020, aiming to finish in 2027 - it has since been delayed to 2029.
History
The first proposals for a line to Fornebu arose as part of a 1917 competition issued by Christiana (later Oslo) and Aker Municipality to plan a new rail transport plan for the capital area. The winning design, made by Jørgen Barth, included a series of suburban lines. One of these was a branch from the Lilleaker Line past Lysaker, through Fornebu and onwards to Snarøya and Ostøya. At the time Fornebu was a largely unpopulated area, while there was a small population at Snarøya. Fornebu and Snarøya received a coach service in 1921. During the 1930s the water aerodrome Gressholmen Airport became insufficient to meet Oslo's aviation needs, and it was decided that Fornebu would become the site of an airport. Oslo Airport, Fornebu opened on 1 June 1939.
Transit to the airport was organized through a series of concessions which were issued to individual bus companies. From 1975 local buses were coordinated through Stor-Oslo Lokaltrafikk. Airport coach services to the city center were on the other hand granted to the largest airlines, Braathens SAFE and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). They operated each their coach service from two separate locations downtown. Various improvements to this system were proposed, including check-in in the city center. The coach and bus services were generally regarded as little attractive and forty percent of passengers at the airport used taxis. Fornebu was at the time still considered an option for a future main airport for Eastern Norway and there were therefore proposal to build an airport rail link.
Meanwhile, there was a political debate regarding the site of a new airport. Fornebu was one alternative. However, it only had a single runway, which was too small to serve intercontinental flights. It would therefore have to serve in tandem with Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. Other proposals were placing the airport at Hurum, Ås and Hobøl, or building a new airport at Gardermoen. The Norwegian State Railways developed a series of plans for the various airport locations, including the Hurum Line, the Gardermoen Line—which was ultimately built—and branches of the Østfold Line to Hobøl and Ås. The ground transport system was a major part of the considerations and proposals were made both for motorway and railway access to all the alternatives. As part of its 1986 proposal NSB also launched the concept of a people mover to the airport.
